Mood:  a-ok
Topic: Hope & Strength
]]Exercise can boost mood of depressed patients


Anybody else enjoy walkng as a re- balancer for mood & a relaxin meditation?

A brisk 30-minute walk has an immediate positive effect on mood, University of Texas researcher John Bartholomew says. His study backs up a growing body of research that has found consistent exercise, along with medication and talk therapy, can help people overcome depression.
Another small study found that just 30 minutes of brisk walking can immediately boost positivefeelings in the depressed, giving them the same quick pick-me-up they may be seeking from cigarettes, caffeine or binge eating.

"Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin found that people suffering from depression who walked on a treadmill for 30 minutes reported feeling more vigorous and had a greater sense of psychological well-being for up to an hour after completing the workout.
Those patients and another group that sat quietly for 30 minutes both reported reductions in negative feelings such as tension, depression, anger and fatigue. But only the group that exercised said they felt good after the session, according to the study, published in the December issue of the journal, Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.
"Lead researcher John Bartholomew said the study reinforces past research that has found consistent exercise, along with medication and counseling, can help people overcome depression.
However, Bartholomew's is among the first to show that exercise can have a positive effect right away.

"It's not something you have to do for 10 weeks and it's not something you have to do at a high intensity," said Bartholomew, an associate professor of kinesiology and health education. "You should derive a benefit very early on in the process, and hopefully that is the kind of thing that will motivate them to continue to engage in the behavior."